Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft Sells 8,324 Shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated $VRTX

Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft lessened its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) by 61.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,280 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock after selling 8,324 shares during the quarter. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals were worth $2,355,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,427 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL bought a new position in Vertex Pharmaceuticals in the 2nd quarter valued at about $228,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 9.0% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 11,929 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after purchasing an additional 986 shares during the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 604 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 29 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Vertex Pharmaceuticals by 26.3% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,291 shares of the pharmaceutical company’s stock worth $3,246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Vertex Pharmaceuticals

In other news, CMO Carmen Bozic sold 596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $482.50, for a total transaction of $287,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 15,337 shares in the company, valued at $7,400,102.50. The trade was a 3.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Joy Liu sold 1,104 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $425.02, for a total transaction of $469,222.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,810,239.58. The trade was a 5.06% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,874 shares of company stock worth $8,707,966 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ VRTX opened at $480.50 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $463.45 and its 200-day moving average is $459.19. Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated has a 12-month low of $362.50 and a 12-month high of $533.67. The firm has a market cap of $121.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.29.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:VRTX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 4th. The pharmaceutical company reported $4.47 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.24 by $0.23. Vertex Pharmaceuticals had a return on equity of 23.86% and a net margin of 35.51%.The firm had revenue of $2.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated will post 17.01 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on VRTX shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Vertex Pharmaceuticals from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 28th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $612.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price target on Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $607.00 to $615.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $577.00 to $572.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Vertex Pharmaceuticals from $545.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Twenty-two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $559.61.

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Company Profile

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc is a Boston-based biotechnology company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of therapies for serious diseases. Founded in 1989, Vertex built its reputation on research-driven drug development and is best known for its work in cystic fibrosis (CF), where its portfolio of small-molecule CFTR modulators transformed standards of care for many people with the disease. The company operates research and development, manufacturing and commercial organizations and serves patients and healthcare systems in multiple international markets.

Vertex’s marketed products center on CFTR modulators that target the underlying cause of cystic fibrosis rather than just treating symptoms.